The Power of Prayer

Have you ever experienced a “Wow!” moment? I’m talking about a moment that makes you want to scream at the top of your voice “Oh my God!” For some people it was an unexpected engagement and the way they were proposed to. For others, their wedding ceremony kept them speechless and teary-eyed in amazement throughout the celebration. I’ve heard couples recount that the birth of their first child was an “Oh my God!” experience for them. For many of us, an unexpected gift to be treasured inspired awe in us that left us almost gasping for breath and mumbling words of appreciation. Many surprised birthday parties release emotions from us and they are definitely an “Oh my God!” moment for the celebrant. Reunion with a loved one and an unexpected recovery of a sick relative make us want to scream aloud “Oh my God!” I have to admit that images of pain and tragedy in my community and around the world have very often left me in awe. The recent images of the pain in the faces of the victims of the Haitian earthquake got the best of me and many people that I know, especially among the Haitian community in our parish. Many devotees of St. Jude know the experience of being left in complete awe and powerless when faced with the illness of a relative or an overwhelming experience of some sort. As we listen to the story of Jesus’ transfiguration read to us at Mass this season of Lent, we notice that the transfiguration of Jesus was an “Oh my God!” moment for Peter.

As much as we know, in his relationship with Jesus, Peter had never seen anything like this until now. The experience was overwhelming and desirable at the same time. Peter saw the mystery of God revealed in Jesus and he wants the experience to remain. To make it happen, he will make a permanent home under the foot of the mountain with Jesus, Moses and Elijah living in a tent up on the mountain. He was not thinking about the logistics of getting his plan to work. He was simply in awe. He thought to himself, “Oh my God! Is this really happening?” It was prayer that opened before Peter’s eyes God’s mystery. Prayer reveals God’s love for us. The story of Hannah in the beginning of the first book of Samuel recounts what prayer could accomplish. When the apostles of Jesus gathered together to celebrate Pentecost, they received the power of tongues, confidence and boldness to come out of their fear and speak about Jesus’ resurrection. There is power in prayer. Prayer brings God’s mystery right into our lives in many ways that we might not expect. Prayer breaks through the divide between our sphere and the abode of God and makes God’s loving mystery available to us. Peter, James and John’s prayer time with Jesus revealed the mystery of God before them and had them asking for more.

This could also be our experience. If you’re praying for physical or emotional healing for yourself or for a loved one; if you’re also praying to God to intervene in a painful experience you or your loved one is undergoing; and if you’re praying for peace, justice and harmony to reign among us, God does answer such prayers and reveal the immensity of divine love towards us. Many devotees of St. Jude have awe-inspiring stories of God’s gift of divine love in their lives through their perseverance of prayer. You too can experience divine mystery and love in your life like Hannah, the apostles and many devotees of St. Jude. We just have to prayer with faith, always without ceasing (1Thess. 5:17).

Fr. Ferdinand Okorie, C.M.F.
National Shrine of St Jude
Chicago, Illinois